Scribner’s Mill Back to the Past Celebration
This annual event is the major fundraiser for the Scribner’s Mill Preservation group. They pull out all the stops and it is a great historical event. The Back to the Past celebration is always the first weekend in August. The efforts of dozens of volunteers and exhibitors help make this a great experience for the whole family.
There are people demonstrating and selling hand crafted items — e.g., spinners and knitters, a tatter, weavers, and a beader. There is a pig roast. There is music. There are diversions for children. There are antique vehicles like a fire truck that periodically shows how water was taken from the nearby stream to put out a fire. There is the mill itself, an amazing feat of restoration. There is a working blacksmith’s shop. There is the house, which is itself being put back to how it looked in it’s hey day.
It is a marvelous way to spend a day. It helps with the mill restoration and is a great step into Maine history.
Photo credit: Sharife
Maine State Parks: Cheap Day Trip Options
Maine has a lot of outdoors for vacationers to enjoy. Parks abound. There is one National Park (Acadia), a piece of the White Mountain National Forest, and 31 or so parks managed by the Maine Bureau of Parks that charge fees. The Appalachian trail passes through or near several of these.
Day passes are completely reasonable to visit one of these parks. Fees for adults range from $4 for residents to $6 for non-residents, depending on the park. For children 11 and under, admission is $1. Senior Maine residents go free; non-residents no more than $4. If you’ll be in Maine for an extended period, like a summer, or live in Maine, consider an annual pass. $70 vehicle pass gets access to all 31 of the fee-charging parks for a year.
Maine’s natural entertainment is it’s biggest tourist asset. If you go to Maine, don’t limit your visit to the beaches. Look into one or more of Maine’s state parks.
Photo Credit: Chris Dag
Texas Roadhouse
As a rule, I don’t tout chain restaurants. There’s too much room for inconsistency from store to store. I believe I’ve found an exception. I recently had the opportunity to dine at Texas Roadhouse in two different states. The quality was consistent. It was fun…unlimited peanuts in the shell and an invite to drop those shells to the floor (warning to those with peanut allergies). The food was fresh and delish — I had pulled pork once and a remarkably tender and perfectly prepared sirloin on the other occasion. The service was great — friendly, attentive wait staff, and a quality check at the end of the meal.
Above and beyond the dining amenities, a notable plus for the budget wise is the list of 10 meals offered for 7.99 during the week for early diners. Hours vary by location.
All-in-all Texas Roadhouse is an enjoyable dining experience. I have no complaints and look forward to my next visit, no matter where I may be.
Photo credit: BKM_BR
Lakeshore Park – Ashtabula, Ohio
I grew up in Ashtabula, Ohio, next to a town park right on Lake Erie. On a recent visit home, my sister and I took several walks through this park, as one of its entrances is only a couple hundred feet from our mother’s front door.
With the help of the Army Corps of Engineers, Lakeshore Park has grown into a very nice something-for-everyone park. Some of the features include beach, boat launch, Frisbee golf course and bocci courts, picnic tables and hibachis, duck pond with ducks, geese, and swans; pavilions, lots of open space, ball field, playground, bathrooms and a concession stand. The one notable drawback (in my opinion) is that dogs are not allowed in the park.
Oh, and for those of you who need you some WiFi, Lakeshore Park is equipped!
There is no fee to get into the park, but reservations may be necessary for pavilion space for family reunions, or weddings, say. If you find yourself on American’s ‘North Coast’, specifically, Ashtabula, Ohio, take a visit to this lovely and historic park.
Colosseum
I went to Italy in 2000, a great year to be in Rome. The Sistine Chapel had just been restored; much of the sculpture in public had been given a facelift; the city was alive. So, What made the biggest impression on me? Besides the Sistine Chapel, that is… The Colosseum. The movie Gladiator was also released in 2000, and the Colosseum played a key part in that film. I had seen Gladiator before the trip, and the Colosseum was whole, had seating, had a floor. I can’t find proof of historical accuracy, but still, all in all, a pretty impressive bit of architecture.
The real thing impressed me no less. Standing in it gave me goosebumps. The structure is nearly 2000 years old, and except for piracy for building materials and damage caused by nature, what’s still standing — and it’s a lot — is a statement on Roman architectural skills. It’s history is amazing; its uses varied. Seeing the ampitheatre; seeing the tunnels that ran under the Colosseum floor; standing where there used to be seats and imagining all it was (in my case, with the visual help taken from the movie Gladiator) makes the Colosseum a must-see site on a Rome visit. And, at least when I visited, there was no fee for entry.
Related Reading: Things to Do in Bolzano, Italy
Photo credit: dumplife
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Shelburne Museum – Americana by the Acre
Located near Lake Champlain, the Shelburne Museum houses a pretty spectular collection of Americana. Included is the steamship Ticonderoga, pictured above, which, in an amazing feat of engineering, was moved overland the two miles from Lake Champlain. There is also a lighthouse from Lake Champlain that was disassembled and moved to the museum and a miniature circus that is pretty amazing. These attractions are just the tip of the iceberg.
This is a great family adventure. The price of admission is good for two days, which will be necessary. The price for Vermont residents is the best deal at 1/2 price, but the family fare — $50 for two adults it their children — is pretty fair for the rest of us.
Photo credit: pdbreen
Cruise the Kanc
The Kancamagus Highway is a 26.5 mile scenic drive that runs through the White Mountain National Forest from Conway to Lincoln, New Hampshire. This drive is beautiful year-round, and is a particular draw during foliage season. In the summer, there are places to swim in the Swift River with natural water slides and pools. There is a small fee for parking along the Kanc, but all the money goes back into the maintenance of it. A particular favorite destination of mine is Sabbaday Falls. It’s a bit past Bear Notch Road on the left coming from Conway. A small hike in is rewarded with an incredible blue green pool and a beautiful small and accessible waterfall. Pack a lunch and picnic at any of the stops along the way. The whole drive, which climbs to just this side of a mile above sea level before descending back into Lincoln, takes a hour or so with no stops.
Be sure to bring a camera. There’s no end of photo ops.
Photo credit: Joe Shlabotnik
Boston Travels: Enjoying Quincy Market
There is enough budget wise stuff to do in and around here to fill a day. Boutique window shopping, street performers, amazing food (or pack a lunch), and room for kids to leap and hop are just some of the attractions. Planning a trip to include Quincy Market (Faneuil Hall Marketplace)? Make it on a Saturday, bring shopping bags and include a trip to the nearby Farmer’s Market. There are good deals all day, but visiting at the end of the day is best for two reasons — you’re not toting fresh produce all day AND the vendors are more willing to deal, because they don’t want to tote that produce back home.
Also, the Freedom Trail passes by Quincy Market and the remarkably moving Holocaust Memorial is right there as well.
Photo credit: fuzzcat
Maine Wildlife Park
There is no one who comes to visit Maine for a week, a weekend or a summer that doesn’t aspire to see, at least, a moose. The intrepid wildlife seeker can find an alternative to driving the highways and byways in the Maine Wildlife Park in Gray, Maine. Open from April to Veteran’s Day, the park is a self-sufficient facility under the auspices of the Maine Department of Inland Fisheries & Wildlife (IF&W).
Entrance fees are between $5-$7.00, but your money will be well spent as it goes back to the maintenance of the Park. Many of the animals at the Park were brought there because they were injured or orphaned or have become human dependent and cannot survive on their own in the wild.
A big ‘must see’ at the Park is the Dry Mills Fish Hatchery which raises thousands of Brook Trout annually.
Bring stuff to barbecue, pack a picnic lunch, or purchase lunch from the snack shack. Stop in at the Visitor’s Center or visit the Nature Store. Walk the tree trail or animal trail to learn more about the flora and fauna native to Maine. To locals, especially those with children, visits to this park are part and parcel of summer in Maine. Visitors to Maine should include it on their travel agenda, too.
Concord Coach Lines – Affordable and comfortable
When it comes to traveling to Boston from Maine or New Hampshire, one option stands head and shoulders above the others, in my humble opinion. That option is the highway coaches run by Concord Coach Lines.
Concord’s routes all end at either South Station or Logan Airport. The price is reasonable — $25.00 same-day round trip ticket through 3/31/10 — and the amenities are stellar. Some buses have power outlets in the seats, some have WiFi. Some offer water and a snack at the beginning of the trip. All have complimentary headsets for watching a movie or listening to one of four types of music. I have found these coaches always to be clean and comfortable, non-smoking, and equipped with bathroom.
Another point of note is that these coaches run on time! Portland, Maine, to walking around Boston in two hours. That is not going to happen with any other means of transport.
Boston, Mass, is not an easy city to navigate by car if one is not familiar with it. My suggestion? Make the most of your day by taking a Concord Trailways bus and walk it when you get there.
